From ‘Fellow Travelers’ to ‘Elite’: 15 queer TV shows we’re most excited about this fall

Don’t touch that dial: There’s tons of great queer and queer-adjacent television series on your way this autumn.

Between exciting new series (Fellow Travelers, Gen V), recent faves returning for a sophomore season (Our Flag Means Death, Loki), and long-running television staples coming back gayer than ever (Doctor Who, Survivor), the fall is thicc with must-see TV.

(Though, casual reminder to Hollywood producers to pay your writers and actors fairly stat—the WGA and SAG strikes are still on going, and we don’t know how much longer this programming will last!)

We digress… In order to help you keep track of it all, Queerty has assembled a guide to the biggest and most exciting TV premieres over throughout September, October, and November.

So, clear some space on your calendar this fall, because it’s going to be a very gay couple of months!

September

American Horror Story: Delicate

Though we doubt this new season of the horror anthology will be as gay as last season’s ripped-from-history tale set in NYC, American Horror Story is just naturally pretty gay, isn’t it? Emma Robert and Kim Kardhasian top-line this story, adapted from a novel by author Danielle Rollins. Premieres Sep. 20 on FX & Hulu.

Sex Education, Season 4

The bawdy and beloved British comedy—which opened the door for Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey to be global Barbie super stars—returns for a final season, which sees Otis (Asa Butterfield) and friends paving news paths forward and saying their goodbyes, with a little help from guest star Dan Levy. Premieres Sep. 21 on Netflix.

Survivor, Season 45

The last season of Survivor gave us our gayest group of castaways ever (plus an adorkable twunky nerd), and wound up with the show’s first-ever queer POC winner in its 23 year history. That’s a high bar to clear for this next installment, but you better believe it’s got us even more hyped to be pack our bags for Fiji once again. Premieres Sep. 27 on CBS.

Related:

As ‘Survivor 44’ ends, we say goodbye to our favorite twunk and hello to our queer winner

This season’s ‘Survivor’ champion makes some queer TV history!

Gen V

The raunchy, bloody hit The Boys proves that not all superheroes have to be sexless, clean-cut paragons of moral goodness. This spin-off expands the show’s morally bankrupt super-powered world and takes us to the Voight Academy, a prestigious (but clearly corrupt) school for young crimefighters-in-training. Premieres Sep. 29 on Prime Video.

October

Our Flag Means Death, Season 2

No one expected a goofy pirate comedy to become such a sensitive portrait of a queer relationship—between “Gentleman Pirate” Steed Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and the fearsome Blackbeard (Taika Waititi)—but it did just that, but we can’t wait to see where this high-seas adventure takes them next. Premiers Oct. 5 on Max.

Loki, Season 2

Surprisingly, this Marvel series confirmed Avengers anti-hero Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was queer in season one—which, we’re raising an eyebrow at the optics of “the trickster god” being bi… Anyway! Here’s hoping Loki gets to explore that a little bit more—you know, in between all the multi-dimensional time travel. Premieres Oct. 6 on Disney+.

The Fall Of The House Of Usher

The latest gothic horror adaptation from Netflix and filmmaker Mike Flanagan (following the queer-inclusive The Haunting Of Hill House and Bly Manor) takes its inspiration from the works of Edgar Allan Poe, spinning them into a no doubt bone-chilling original story set in the modern day. Premieres Oct. 12 on Netflix.

Elite, Season 7

It’s time to return to the horniest private school in the entire world, Las Encinas, in Netflix’s long-running Spanish-language soap. Sadly, our crush Manu Ríos’s Patrick won’t be back this season, but his former flame Omar (original cast member Omar Ayuso) will be, and that’s enough to hook us for more! Premieres Oct. 27 on Netflix.

Related:

Netflix drops major ‘Élite’ spoilers & photos about Omar Ayuso’s return for season 7

Ahead of the season 7 premiere of ‘Elite’ in October, Netflix is spilling the tea on Omar Ayuso’s highly anticipated return.

Fellow Travelers

This decades-spanning miniseries follows two closeted D.C. government employees (Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey) who meet and fall in love at the height of McCarthisym-fueled paranoia in the ’50s and continue to cross paths through the gay liberation movement to the AIDS crisis. Premieres Oct. 27 on Showtime & Paramount+.

November

The Buccaneers

Is this the next Downton Abbey? Based off the Edith Wharton novel, the drama series centers on a group of young American women who head to London to find husbands during debutante season. Mad Men‘s Christina Hendricks stars, as does trans actress Josie Totah of Saved By The Bell fame. Premieres Nov. 8 on AppleTV+

Rap Sh!t, Season 2

Loosely based on the lives on Miami rap duo The City Girls, this addicting comedy from Insecure‘s Issa Rae finds friends Mia (real-life rapper KaMillion) and Shawna (nonbinary star Aida Osman) balancing their friendship with newfound fame after their first single went viral. Queer comic-turned musician Jaboukie Young-White also recurs. Premieres Nov. 9 on Max.

A Murder At The End Of The World

Co-creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij follow up their cult hit The OA in this compelling murder mystery, with amateur Gen Z detective Darby Hunt (The Crown‘s Emma Corrin) forced to solve a murder at a secluded retreat where the mysterious killer’s still on the loose. Queerty Pride50 honoree Ryan J. Haddad also stars. Premieres Nov. 14 on Fx & Hulu.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

The 2010 comedy Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a young musician has to battle his new girlfriend’s exes—video game style—in order to win her heart. The movie was based off graphic novels, which are now being adapted into an anime series featuring the film’s voice cast—including Michael Cera, Aubrey Plaza, and Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay roomie. Premieres Nov. 17 on Netflix.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials

While we wait for Ncuti Gatwa to take over as the first queer Time Lord, Russell T. Davies’ (Queer As Folk, It’s A Sin) helms a handful of end-of-year holiday specials starting in November, which will feature Heartstopper‘s Yasmin Finney in a crucial role and Neil Patrick Harris as a formidable villain. The BBC premiere dates are TBA.

Related:

Ncuti Gatwa strips down for British Vogue’s Pride Issue & opens up about his sexuality

The ‘Barbie’ and ‘Doctor Who’ star says, “it’s important that no one feels an obligation to others in relation to what’s happening to them internally.”

Various Dates: Drag Race World Domination continues…

At this rate, there’s basically a new season of the global Drag Race franchise dropping every week—not that we’re complaining. The debut seasons of Brazil and Germany are recently underway, with Italia 3 dropping Oct. 3, and (at the very least) UK 5, Canada’s Drag Race 4, the first-ever España All Stars all expected to premiere this fall. On top of that, drag-centric streamer WOW Presents+ has plenty of original series on the way, including the new Ts Madsion Ate That on Sep. 11 and the brand new Avalon TV on Oct. 6, which puts the focus on faves Symone, Gigi Goode, and their ultra-cool creative collective, The House Of Avalon. Stay tuned for more dates!